CHAMPAIGN — Come November, the City of Champaign Township will ask voters if they’re willing to approve an 18-cent tax increase to help keep the Strides homeless shelter open and support other local expenses, with officials estimating this would amount to an annual increase of about $60 for a homeowner with property valued at $100,000.
The City of Champaign Township Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass a resolution putting this referendum on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election. According to Township Supervisor Kyle Patterson, the township has the same boundaries as the city of Champaign.
He wrote in a report to the board that the township is in need of a $3.755 million increase to help fund the following expenses:
- Strides low-barrier shelter: $3.4 million.
- Increased rental assistance: $200,000.
- Increased general assistance: $70,000.
- Additional staffing for the assessor’s office: $85,000.
“There is a need to expand upon existing programs to more adequately serve the public,” Patterson said.
“The Township’s current levy is inadequate to fund the needs of the Township, particularly with the end of ARPA funding, and voters can be given the option to increase the levy.”
At present, the township’s tax rate is $0.0417 for every $100 of equalized assessed value, he said. This produced a little over $930,000 in tax revenue for the 2023 tax year.
Township officials are proposing to increase the rate to $0.2203 for every $100 of equalized assessed value, which is expected to generate an additional $4 million in annual revenue.
At present, a homeowner with a property valued at $100,000 pays a rate of about $13.90 annually to the township; it’s estimated that such an individual would pay $73.87 annually under the new rate.
State law mandates that the township must submit the matter to a referendum and receive approval from a simple majority of voters in order to increase the rate, Patterson said.
In discussing the largest of the four costs, he noted that staffing for the Strides shelter has been primarily funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars from the City of Champaign, with this funding estimated to last through the end of June 2025.
“There are no identified alternative funding sources to fully cover Stride’s staffing and operational costs, and without further action, closure of the facility would be the likely outcome,” he wrote.
He estimated that the shelter’s annual budget is about $2 million per year, and funding from the referendum would allow the township to not only keep the shelter open but also expand its staffing and services with a total budget of $3.4 million per year.
Patterson wrote that the shelter’s needs include not only increased staffing, but also additional funding for food, supplies, transportation, and new Street Outreach and Rapid Rehousing programs.
Additionally, Patterson said that the township’s rental assistance program is also in need of a new funding source, as this also relied on ARPA funds from the city of Champaign.
“Through July 2023 to April 2024, the Township served 208 households, totaling approximately $150,000 spent in Rental Assistance, which depleted the remaining Rental Assistance balance for FY24,” he said. “Without ARPA funds, the Township will have no Rental Assistance funding for FY25.”
A budget of $200,000 would allow the township to increase award amounts from $800 to $1,000 and enable the program to serve an average of 200 households per fiscal year, Patterson said.
The city’s general assistance program, on the other hand, benefits community members who are applying for Social Security income, with Patterson saying these individuals often have to wait for several months or years before they hear a decision.
Patterson wrote that increasing the budget by $70,000 would allow the township to increase its monthly award amount from $340 to $425, which is the amount recommended by the state.
“Without a budget increase and without an award increase many of these individuals will encounter food insecurity, utility shut offs, rental arrears and evictions or avoid seeking healthcare,” Patterson said.
As for the staffing needs of the assessor’s office, he wrote that the city of Champaign has seen a significant increase in housing construction, and current staffing levels have been an obstacle to assessing this growth.
Patterson said that adding one full-time deputy assessor would allow the office to “provide more thorough and fair assessments for taxpayers.”
When asked how he felt about the referendum’s chances of success, Patterson told The News-Gazette, “There’s no telling. I think it’s for an issue that people seem to care about a lot. Most of the money would be going toward Strides, the low-barrier shelter.”
Three individuals spoke in favor of the referendum during the time for public comment, with all three expressing their support for the shelter’s work.
“In the event that it doesn’t pass, what happens next?” asked Alderman Will Kyles.
“We would either have to A) have some ... tough conversations with the city about what might be available financially, or the shelter would have to close,” Patterson replied.
“If we want the shelter to exist, we have to figure out how to pay for it,” said Mayor Deb Feinen. “We had ARPA funding. We knew when we started with ARPA funding that we would have to eventually get to a place where we were figuring out how to continue the shelter and pay for it.”
Members of the township board also expressed support for the referendum and continued support of Strides.
“(The homeless) rely on us, as a community, to help them put their lives back together,” said Alderman Alicia Beck. “And if we are unwilling to do that, they will remain in a homeless state. And what that means is that we will have turned our backs on some of the most vulnerable citizens in our community. And I just can’t live with that.”
To learn more about the referendum, go to cctownship.com/2024-agendas-minutes/ and click on “August 6, 2024 Agenda.” Community members can also contact the township supervisor’s office at 217-403-6120 for more information.
